A slower start to our KAL than we’d like, maybe, but we’ll get there! All the tools at the ready: a handmade yarn bowl, Cocoknits Yarn Snips, brass hex markers, a Wool & Honey needle gauge in cherry wood and a little enamel pin for reassurance.

We’re into the first week of our Summer Sorrel KAL….how are you doing, friends? Getting the hang of those dips?

​​​​​​​Like all good knit-a-longs, this sweater is a delicious challenge. Absolutely doable, but it does take a bit more…gumption…than some of the sweaters in our queue. Michele kept a notepad at her side while she was knitting‑‑a list of helpful hints for fellow stitchers‑‑and we wanted to share it with you, especially during this first week. We wrote this blog post to detail these tips. We think it’ll help.

Need a little more motivation? In addition to the qualifying prizes we’re offering, the Wool & Pine design team is offering one free pattern from their library to three participants, along with a copy of their ‘Minis Collection’ paperback book to another.

Keep knitting, you busy bees‑‑the KAL ends at 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, August 13th‑‑you’ve got pleeeeenty of time. 

*****

In Michele’s words….

  1. Definitely do the cast on as directed–but allow a bit of time. (Michele is a highly skilled knitter and it took her 1.5 hours to cast on.)
  2. Watch the videos! I watched them while I was swatching and then watched the relevant video again when I got to that section.
  3. Weight each skein before starting the top. These are 115 g skeins–if you’re doing a fade, it will help you judge the changes.
  4. I started the first fade at the beginning of Chart 2; after starting the body, I knit at 1″, then switched to doing the sleeves (all in Color 2) so I didn’t go too far and run out of Color 2 on the body before completing the sleeves.
  5. Body: I did numerous calculations to determine how much yarn it took to do a row so I could use pretty much all of Color 2 and ensure I had enough to complete the fade.
  6. Bind off: You have to adjust the 2×2 rib to a 1×1 rib to enable you to do the Kitchener Bind Off. I followed Andrea Mowry’s YouTube for 2×2 Tubular Bind Off for the sleeves. Ran into issues for the body bind off and ran out of time, so I just completed a normal bind off in pattern.